A True Jedi
by JediTears09
Summary: The story of a young Jedi and her role in the galaxy. Set sometime after the Old Republic Era.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

A light wind blew a few stray locks of blonde hair across her face where they danced to and fro, obstructing her view of the vast ocean laid out at her feet. A flash of lightning curiously divided the bright afternoon sky. She counted the seconds from when it struck, to measure how distant the storm was. _That was the trick, wasn't it? One mile for every second?_

_One…_ A wave crashed a few yards from her feet and engulfed her with a fresh waft of salty sea air.

_Two…_ The water rushed up to her ankles. It was warm and she wiggled her toes in the shifting wet sand.

_Three…_ A bird called from the depths of the dark jungle behind her, an eerie mournful wail challenging the rhythm of the ocean.

_Four…_ Something silvery glinted in the wave's receding path, rolling and turning, fighting to dislodge the sand that covered it.

_Five…_ She bent to scoop it up but before her fingers could touch the metal surface a crash of thunder echoed in her ears. Everything went dark. Sure, she could feel the sand under her feet and the cool wet surface of the object she retrieved from the sea's grasp, but the world was black. She imagined this must be how her uncle felt all the time; his eyes had been relieved of their sight years ago.

She palmed the object, trying to visualize it. Her thumb found a small button near the middle of the cylindrical object. _What does this do? It could be dangerous, but why should I stop taking risks now? It's a little late to start being rational after all these years._ So she took a chance. A flash of red blinded her, and then it turned blue, then red again. It continued this pattern and the quick succession of colors began to make her head spin and her stomach lurch. She dropped the object, but it made no difference. After a few seconds her vision began to clear. She could almost make out the source of the light. Just one more blink.

"Kate!"

_Great, now I'm hearing voices. Like I needed any more problems._ It didn't matter, just one more second and she would see it. She closed her eyes.

Before she could open them again, something was shaking her and screaming. "Kate!" She blearily opened her eyes and received another shout in her ear. She yawned and pushed her little brother off her, slightly annoyed that he had disrupted her dream. It was the third time she had had that particular dream, but this was the first she had seen of the flashing lights.

"Kate, Mother says you have to get up! Now!" he whined.

She chuckled and ruffled his curly brown locks. It was hard to stay mad at him.

"Tell her I'm coming, Gam, ten minutes tops."

The small boy hurtled out of the room, legs pumping and arms flailing. He wanted to be a swoop rider one day and Kate didn't have the heart to tell him he had one chance in a million, maybe a half a chance in a million. Their family was very poor and could barely afford an ample amount of food, let alone a swoop bike. It had been that way ever since their father, Kalmar Asan, had disappeared. Some said he had been killed by a pack of Canyas, but Kate suspected he left when he found out her mother, Samil, was pregnant with Gamira. They called him Gam because he said it was a much better racing name. Canyas were a ferocious species of large lizards native to Carun, a small planet on the Outer Rim of the galaxy that the Asan family called home. Canyas had been known to attack humans before, but less and less were found these days since poachers began hunting them for their spines which were rumored to be sharper than vibroswords and stronger than steel. _But whatever the reason, he was gone and that was that._

Kate began her morning routine. She scrubbed her face and fixed her hair, which was tousled from a night full of tossing, turning and odd flashing lights. Her clothes were slightly wrinkled from being left in a heap on the floor but she shook them out a few times and decided they were fine. Donning her loose shirt and tan leggings, she felt guilty for not helping her mother with breakfast and resolved to be extra helpful around the house. Just as she was fastening her sandals her mother poked her head into the room.

"Hurry up. There's someone important here to see you."

This sparked Kate's interest and she hurriedly put on her other shoe and followed her mother to the kitchen. Sitting at the low stone table was a man dressed in modest brown robes. He had a few wisps of white hair clinging to the back of his head that had been fashioned into a ponytail, but otherwise he was bald. He stood up when they walked into the room and Kate guessed his height to be around six feet. There was an odd sparkle in his old chestnut-colored eyes that both unnerved and intrigued her. _What an odd old man._

"This is Master Dekka. He's a Jedi from the academy on Talún, and he wanted to talk to you, Kate."

Kate eyed him nervously. She didn't know what this was about, but there was something strange about him she didn't like. He smiled at her, his eyes almost disappearing beneath the wrinkles of skin. _Wow, this guy has got some pretty white teeth for his age. He must be at least eighty._

"So, young one, I've been talking to your mother. She says you're quite special." Samil beamed. Dekka continued, "But so do all mothers, so I'm going to have to be the judge of that."

Kate saw an annoyed expression cross her mother's face, but the shadow quickly passed. Samil felt slighted at his doubting of her daughter's talent, but she wasn't about to be rude to a guest in her own house, especially someone of his caliber.

Dekka glanced at Gam, who was tugging at the hem of his robe, shooed him away and then looked back at Kate. "I'm going to ask you some questions and tell you to do a few things."

She said suspiciously, "Why?"

Annoyed, Dekka replied, "First lesson. Don't ask, just do."

Kate sighed inwardly but kept her thoughts to herself.

Then the questions began.

How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Dou you have any close family?"

"Other than my mother and Gam, no."

"Have you any experience with a blaster or any melee weapons?"

_What was this guy trying to do, draft her?_ She didn't exceptionally want to be in any military, so she understated a little.

"A bit." Samil raised one eyebrow slightly but said nothing. She knew Kate spent most of her free time outside practicing. Either she was shooting at rocks half-buried in the sand a dozen yards away, or she had a wooden stick she had carved in the likeness of a vibroblade in her hand jabbing at imaginary foes. Of course, there wasn't much else for her daughter to do outside of daily chores; Carun was a boring place, a desert planet. She gave her head a little shake and returned her gaze to the Jedi sitting at her kitchen table.

"Show me."

So Kate stood up and led them outside.

"Blaster first. Hit that."

She tried not to giggle as he pointed out a helmet-sized rock perched on a sand dune about twenty feet from where they stood. _I could hit that in my sleep._

But she humored him, positioning her feet squarely on the ground. She raised the blaster, aimed and fired once. The shot hit the stone dead center where it left a smoking fist-sized hole before the impact sent it rolling down the other side of the dune and out of sight. Kate grinned and let her arm fall to her side. _Who said girls can't shoot?_

"Hmph, well that was easy."

_No kidding._

"Try that one over there."

It was about twice as far away, but she hit it easily.

"That's all well and good, but not very practical. Nobody's going to stand there and let you hit them. Let's try with something that moves."

Kate followed hesitantly as the old man stepped over a sand dune an walked away from the house. He indicated a small Redana, a peaceful furry brown creature with six legs and a long tail, nibbling at a lone plant braving the desert sun.

"Go on, I haven't got all day."

Kate looked at him in disgust. "No."

"What?" He sounded incredulous.

"I'm not going to kill an innocent creature for no other reason than to test my skill with a blaster." _You run out there, old man, and I'll show you how well I can shoot. _She shook her head. _Where did that come from? What an awful thought._ She silently rebuked herself.

Dekka chuckled. "An interesting suggestion, and not entirely undeserved, I think."

"Were you reading my thoughts?"

"Maybe. But you performed well."

"What? I didn't do anything."

He watched her carefully. "That was my point. You have a fine respect for life." With that he made his way back into the house.

_Curious, but effective enough._

When they returned inside they found the old Jedi sitting on the floor next to the table, legs folded, eyes closed.

Gam giggled and pulled on her sleeve. "He fell asleep."

Dekka cracked one eye, and then wearily stood up, using the table for support. "Not sleeping, meditating. Although you move so slow I should have taken a nap. Could have used one too, these old bones have forgotten how tiring it is to travel. Sit." He gestured at a chair and sank into the one opposite it. Kate sat down slowly.

"Alright, I'm going to give you a scenario. Purely hypothetical, but answer truthfully. Tell me what you would do, not what you think I want to hear. Well, what I want to hear is what you would do, so really…

_Gam was right, old people do like to talk._

"So, someone has wronged you. Do you forgive them or try to get back at them in some way?"

"What did they do?"

"Let's say… Your friend pushed you and you fell and broke your nose."

"How did I manage to… Never mind. Well, I would forgive them. They were only joking and they had no way of knowing I would get hurt."

"Good. You are battling an enemy. You have defeated them and they surrender. Do you show mercy?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?"

"Alright. Have you ever been in love?"

"Wait, what? What does that have to do-"

Dekka cut her off. "Answer the question."

"I… I don't want to talk about that. Don't… Don't ask me again."

"Fine, do you think you will fall in love again?"

"No. Never again." Her eyes began to tear a little but she blinked fiercely and it subsided. _No point in dwelling on the past._

Dekka's face softened a little, but Kate wasn't looking for sympathy.

"Are we done?"

"One last thing. I need to see how you are with melee weapons. Go find two sticks. I don't want anyone getting hurt which is inevitable if we use real blades. Now shoo!"

So with a small sigh Kate walked outside and fetched two three-foot-long sticks from the old woodpile that had been there for years. _Why, oh why did he have to remind her of that?_ She threw the sticks down and picked up a rock. _Who did he think he was?_ She chucked the stone out into the vast desert and screamed in frustration and sorrow. _Coming into her house and re-opening old wounds._ She took a deep breath and calmed herself, then retrieved the sticks and walked back towards the house just as Dekka appeared in the doorway. She cheered up a little; sparring always lightened her mood. If Kate was good with a blaster, she was marvelous with melee. _He won't know what hit him._

"Toss me one." She complied. "Ready?"

She adjusted her grip and took a step forward in response. He swung, she blocked. He jabbed, she dodged. He swung once more and she met the blow and twitched her wrist in a circular motion. The stick flew up into the air and landed next to the house. Kate set the end of her stick on the Jedi's chest.

"Impressed?" She imagined the stunned look on his face meant yes.

"You're a little older than we would have liked, but I'm willing to make an exception. You already have considerable skills, particularly when it comes to melee."

_Yeah, I totally owned you._

Dekka frowned. "You need to be taught to control your ego and more importantly, guard your mind. Reading your thoughts is like paging through a book."

Kate's face burned red.

Dekka kept talking. "But you have the right sot of personality."

Confused, she asked, "For what?"

'For a Jedi, of course! You've been accepted into the academy on Talún. If you're ready, we can leave tomorrow morning."

Kate could only stare at him in disbelief. "Why me?"

"You're what we call force sensitive. A pupil of mine was passing through Carun and he told me he met a young lady here who was very strong in the force."

_Of course._ Kate remembered him. _What was his name? Jano? No, that wasn't it. Jannik, yes._

He had approached her while she was wandering around the local market. He seemed nice enough so she made small talk for a few minutes before excusing herself and heading home.

"But I can't leave. My mother and Gam need me here," she protested.

Dekka said, "The academy is willing to provide your family with enough credits to live comfortably, along with a personal assistance droid to make up for your absence."

Kate hesitated and turned towards her mother who smiled and nodded encouragingly.

"Alright. I guess we can leave in the morning then."

Dekka smiled. "At first light."

Samil stroked her daughter's hair and hugged her tight. "Don't worry dear, you'll be fine."

Kate sniffed and said, "I'll visit you the minute I become a Jedi. I promise."

Samil wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and rubbed Kate's shoulder. "Now go get some rest. I love you."

Kate left her mother and went to look for Gam. She found him in his "special place", between a storage container and the wall.

"Gam? Gam, it's Kate. Are you alright?"

A large amount of sniffles and sobs preceded his answer. "No! I'm not okay. You're leaving us just like Dad left Mom. It's because of me, isn't it? I'm the reason he left and now it's my fault again!"

Kate could almost feel her heart breaking. "No, Gam, no that's not why at all. I have to leave. It's the only way you two are going to get by. The academy will take care of you."

There was a small shuffling and Gam crawled out and put his head in her lap.

"I don't want you to go, Kate."

She smoothed his curly hair and said, "I have to, Gam. You'll be fine. Hey, look at me."

He sat up and she put her hand on his small shoulder. It is not your fault Dad left. He left because he's about as smart as a hutt's backside."

Gam giggled and Kate pulled him into a hug and kissed the top of his head.

"I promise I'll visit soon."

"How soon is soon?"

She picked him up and set him down on his bed. "I'll be back before you know it. Then I can tell you all about being a Jedi," she said as she pulled the blanket up to his chin. Gam smiled and closed his eyes.

Kate silently slipped outside and walked. Just walked. She made her way to the highest dune in the desert, faced east and sat down. The sand beneath her was still warm and it offered some comfort. _I've never been to another planet before. I've never even flown before._ A fresh wave of pain hit her and the tears she had held back all day came pouring out. She lay on her back and looked up at the sky and all the stars and planets. _Which one is Tarún? Maybe it's so far away I can't even see it. It could be on the other side of the galaxy._ She calmed down a little. She always wanted to travel the galaxy and this was her ticket. The redana she had refused to harm earlier perked up his ears as a soft sound filled the night air. Kate was singing.

"There's a world out there

Full of good and bad

But you're there for me

Through it all.

When I fell, you caught me

When I called you, you came

When I wept I could feel

Your arms around me

And I knew it would be okay."

Kate lay there in the sand with her arms wrapped around her body, staring at the sky.

The rising sun found Kate trudging over the dunes. It had been a long, sleepless night, but she felt better for it. Her mother and Master Dekka were waiting outside. She apologized for being late, received an incoherent grunt from Dekka in reply, then went into the house to retrieve her things. Gam was sleeping peacefully. She kissed his forehead and he rolled over. She slung her bag over her shoulder and walked slowly through the doorway. She picked something up off the ground and handed it to Samil. It was her wooden vibroblade.

"Give this to Gam. Teach him how to defend himself, okay?" She gave her mother one last hug, then turned to Dekka. "I'm ready."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Kate stepped into the landspeeder and waited for Dekka to climb in. They would travel to a nearby town, then wait for Dekka's friend to pick them up and drop them off on Talún. Kate could tell Dekka was concentrating on not crashing into something and sending them down in flames, so she remained silent for most of the trip. She only spoke to pester him as to how far they had yet to travel and when they would get there. His answer was always a disgruntled, "Soon enough."

Just when she was beginning to think that Dekka had gotten them lost, she spotted the city in the distance. Before long she was clambering out of the landspeeder clutching her luggage and trying to remain upright while stretching her cramped leg muscles.

"So where is this friend of yours? He owns a ship, I suppose," Kate said as they walked through the city.

"Yes, but he probably won't show up for an hour or so. Always late, that one." Dekka led her into the more dangerous side of town. "The landing pads are over there, right next to that long oval building over there, see?"

Kate eyed a few people standing on a street corner. She nervously placed her hand on the top of the blaster in her belt and walked a little closer to Dekka.

They reached the landing pad and found it completely deserted. Kate sat down against a rough mud-brick wall to wait and Dekka paced back and forth nervously. She had only met a few Jedi who happened to be passing through Carun, but from what Kate knew of Jedi, Dekka was acting very strangely.

_He looks more frazzled than a Quinn caught in a hunter's trap._

Something in the air tickled Kate's nose and she sneezed. Dekka spun around, blasters drawn and a snarl on his face. When he realized nothing was there but a very petrified Kate, he shoved the blasters back into his belt and grunted, "Sorry about that. Can never be too careful because…" The rest of his words were drowned out by the roar of engines as a small ship descended onto the landing pad. The peeling silver letters on the side read, "The Royal Eagle."

Dekka walked over to it, the limp oddly gone from his step, a very un-Jedi-like sneer forming on his lips. Seconds after the ship hit the ground the doors burst open and his sneer turned into a dumbfounded gape as a second Master Dekka leapt out of the ship, green lightsaber and brown eyes blazing. Kate let out a cry of surprise and fired three blaster shots at the newcomer who easily deflected them with a twirl of his blade, sending them flying into the wall and leaving sizzling holes behind.

The first Dekka could only send one badly aimed shot at the second before he was knocked off his feet by some untold power emanating from the stranger's outstretched palm. He slammed into the wall and fell to the ground unconscious. Kate, who had been rooted to the spot, wrenched her feet from the dirt and ran towards Dekka, stopped short of his still form and faced the man advancing on them.

"If you want to kill him, you'll have to go through me," Kate said, trying to keep the panic she was feeling out of her voice. "I…" It came out as a shrill squeak and she swallowed. "I'm a Jedi," she said fiercely, attempting to look the part even though her heart was hammering loudly against her rib cage.

The man retracted his lightsaber and stowed it inside his robes, holding up his hands in a gesture of peace. "Calm down. There will be no killing today. I think you had best listen to what I have to say before making any rash decisions."

Kate's finger, which had been tense on the hair trigger she had installed herself, did not relax any. However, she lowered the blaster hesitantly, still ready to fire if he tried anything.

Looking slightly less intimidating, the stranger strode over to Dekka's unconscious body, knelt, and then seized his neck as though to strangle the poor man. Kate gave a yell and raised the blaster again, then gasped as Dekka's face came away in the stranger's hand, revealing a much younger, tawny-haired man she had never seen before.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"But how did he manage to pull it off? I mean, you _are_ a Jedi after all."

They were sitting in the cockpit of The Royal Eagle, watching the stars speed by and discussing the recent happenings as they flew towards Talún and the Jedi academy on the planet's surface.

The real Dekka sighed and leaned back in the pilot's seat. "I feel I must apologize as this catastrophe was partly my fault. You see, Jannik, the imposter, told me he had been sent by the council to aid me in the selection of new Jedi. Not suspecting anything, I trusted him completely."

"Jannik." Kate furrowed her brow. "You mean…"

"Yes, the young man you spoke with back on Carun. He mentioned you and once I had located you and arranged transport he poisoned my evening meal. Jedi are trained to resist such poisons, else I fear you would not have fared so well. Luckily for us, much evil underestimates the power of a Jedi. Unfortunately, the poison Jannik used was potent enough to render me unconscious for several hours. When I woke up, I was able to find his accomplice who had foolishly returned to the academy to plunder several valuable Jedi artifacts stored there. I regained possession of the ship they had stolen from the academy and traveled to Carun as quickly as possible. Fortunately I was not too late, and that is where our tales intertwine."

Kate had already told Dekka of the happenings on Carun. They both agreed that Jannik had played his part exceptionally well. Now that she thought back, Kate knew she would never have been able to defeat a true Jedi master so easily and should have seen through Jannik's disguise at that point.

Resolving to be more watchful and less full of herself in the future, Kate voiced a question that had been bothering her since they left the ground.

"Master Dekka, why did Jannik come after me? I mean, there are plenty of more talented people out there he could have chosen, so why me?

The old master hesitated a moment before speaking in his usual calm, deep voice; however, Kate shrewdly detected a hint of worry flicker in his eyes, betraying his otherwise impassive face.

"I am not sure. I must discuss this with the council and the other masters once we return to the academy. It is likely that whoever arranged this planned similar attacks at the other academies and you just happened to be the first force-sensitive Jannik came across."

Kate frowned. "But why capture force-sensitives? What…"

Dekka cut her off. "I think it would be best to discontinue this discussion until I can contact the concil."

"But…"

"No," he said sharply, making it clear that the topic was closed and no amount of pleading or prodding would re-open it until he deemed necessary.

Kate sighed softly, said, "Yes, Master Dekka," and then stared broodingly at the passing star systems.

* * *

A series of buzzes and beeps greeted Kate as she opened her eyes and she yelped and scrambled backwards, practically falling off her chair; a metallic, moving, _thing_ that vaguely resembled a trash compactor filled her vision.

"Master Dekka," she shrieked, "Master Dekka, what _is _that?!"

It beeped reproachfully.

Face still emotionless, though something that could have been amusement flitted in his eyes, Dekka said, "I have not introduced you. Kate, this is MO-39. MO, this is Kate, the new padawan at the Talún academy."

The droid said, "Meep," happily.

Kate sighed and inwardly kicked herself for being so skittish. It was just a stupid droid, she had seen many of them in the Carun marketplace, though perhaps none so close as this one, which was practically rolling over her feet. She nudged it away with the tip of her sandal. MO blipped angrily and sped around the nearest corner where Kate could hear the droid tinkering with a malfunctioning wall panel. She returned her gaze to the stars and her thoughts to the planet in their midst, carrying her future.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Dekka pointed out a small green dot, steadily increasing in size through the blackness of the sky and informed her, "The planet, there, is Talún. It has a single moon, Gendrann, which is believed to be uninhabited. No one can verify that, however, since the two expedition teams sent for research never returned, nor the rescue parties sent after them."

Upon seeing the uneasy look on Kate's face, he assured, "There will probably never be a reason for you to go there; students rarely leave the planet and there is no knowledge of any particular point of interest on Gendrann. Talún itself is mostly a plain of grasses and small plants, but some sections near the academy are wooded. There are two main species of animals on the planet: the predator and the prey. The peaceful Atani, graceful four-legged creatures bearing small horns, are often fed upon by the Detala, fierce beasts with terrible speed and cunning. Lately they have begun running unchecked near the academy. You should never be outside alone. Never."

Kate nodded. She didn't like the sound of these Detalas; anything that could worry the impassive Master Dekka should certainly be minded carefully.

However, excitement quickly pushed those thoughts out of her head as the Royal Eagle shuddered slightly upon entering the planet's atmosphere, green trees and tan plains coming into view beneath them. A large structure with an open courtyard could be seen a short distance away from the landing pad the ship eased onto.

Kate clicked her nails nervously on the leather holster of the blaster fastened to her waist as Dekka powered down the ship, then stood up and walked to the exit ramp. She followed him across the field and, stopping briefly to converse with a young woman at the entrance, into the Jedi Academy.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Welcome, young one," the small creature said. He was very old, with red-tinted, wrinkled skin, small brown eyes, and two tiny horns protruding from his head; he was obviously not of the human race.

Kate had no idea what he was, exactly, but decided it was rude to ask, so she compromised with a simple, "Thank-you. Who are you?"

"I am Master Cathir, keeper of the library and steward of this academy." He gestured at a scattering of mats lying near his feet. "Please be seated and let us talk of your training and future here on Talún."

Dekka bowed slightly in the elder Jedi's direction and, following his lead, they sank onto the slightly threadbare cloth.

"Now, you understand the work that must be put into becoming a Jedi? You must learn our code and our ways, and train with our weapons and powers, which will take years to master."

"I understand, Master Cathir." Kate spoke softly, comprehending the gravity of what she was about to begin.

Cathir smiled gently. "Good. Master Dekka will be your teacher. He will guide you in your studies and instruct you in the ways of the force. Go now, and rest. Tomorrow, your training begins."

Kate hesitated, surprised at the briefness of the discussion, then stood up and trailed after Dekka as he led her to her new home. It was a small, simple room on the eastern side of the compound with no furniture save a pair of thick mats, two footlockers and a short table in the corner bearing a wooden comb and a basin of water. There was also an interface screen on the wall above it.

"You will be rooming with Master Grint's padawan, Niama. She should be returning shortly. Meet me tomorrow morning at dawn, in the central courtyard."

"Alright. Good night, Master Dekka."

Clumsily returning Master Dekka's bow, she trudged over and sank onto the unused mat, exhaling heavily; it had been a long day. She propped her head up on her elbow and dug through her bag until she found it: the smooth stone Gam had polished and carved a heart into for her fifteenth birthday. She pressed the cool rock to her cheek, tracing her thumb over the crooked heart gouged in its center, until sleep took her.

* * *

It was getting rather old being woken up this way; the first thought Kate had as someone yelled and tripped over her outstretched arm, stone still clenched in her fist. Mumbling incoherently, she sat up and found herself staring into someone's big, brown eyes. She blinked; the person attached to the eyes giggled and retreated back to her own mat to dig through the footlocker lying opened at its base.

"Hi! I'm Niama, what's your name? Sorry for stepping on you… Master Grint says I need to work on not being so clumsy. Or noisy." She grimaced over her shoulder, then returned to whatever she was looking for. "What was your name again?"

Taken aback by the burst of speech after Master Dekka and Cathir's silence, she reacted slowly. "Um, Kate. Kate Asan."

"Huh, what planet are you from?"

"Carun."

"Never heard of it. Outer rim or core?"

"Way in the outer rim. Where are you from?"

"Good question. Master Cathir found me on the streets in Coruscant and brought me here. That was about three years ago. Or was it four?" She frowned, then shrugged. "I'm sixteen now, though. How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"That's ancient. Well, if you can get your wrinkled old butt out of bed, Mater Dekka hates it when people are late. He's late sometimes too, but don't point that out. He gets grouchy and makes you clean out the marsh-toad-infested storerooms." She crinkled her nose, then finally bulled a battered sandal out of the footlocker. She rolled over on her back happily and pulled the elusive shoe on. Kate studied her for a moment, admiring the ebony tone of her skin, and the long braids of black hair; everyone on Carun was pale, or suntanned if they worked in the fileds. Not having taken her shoes off the night before, Kate got up stiffly, smoothed her wrinkled clothes, then headed out the door, waving at Niama who was having difficulty fastening the leather thong on her sandal.

* * *

Master Dekka was not there yet, so Kate settled herself in the crook of one of the huge trees scattered across the courtyard. She breathed in the smell of the large pink and white blooms, ehn sneezed noisily and nearly fell of the branch. She swung by one hand for a moment, judging the distance to the ground, then let go and landed somewhat neatly on the sand walkway below. Shaking her left foot in an attempt to dislodge some of the sand lodged in her sandle, Kate saw Master Dekka approaching. He was indeed late; the sun had risen a while ago, but, not wanting to have an encounter with the marsh-toads, she kept quiet.

"I trust you slept well?"

"Good morning Master Dekka. Yes, thank-you."

* * *

After that, the spoke very little. The day was spent learning the Jedi code, and, more importantly to Kate, how to connect to the force. It was like an electric current running through her veins, powering her every movement, her breath, her life. Like having her finger on the heartbeat of the galaxy. She could feel every creature around the academy, in the surrounding woods. If she concentrated hard, she thought she could even feel a glimmer of life on the moon, Gendrann. Beyond that it was utterly indescribable.

"Alright," Dekka said, disrupting Kate's focus on a pebble she was trying to levitate, "that is enough for today. When you get hungry, the students take their evening meal in the hall to the south. You should ask Niama, she is always hungry." Dekka left to return to the council hall, to the west, and Kate returned to her room. Her stomach protested loudly at the extra movement. Niama was sitting cross-legged on the floor, her footlocker gliding smoothly in circles around her, eyes closed.

"How did you do that?" Kate asked enviously.

Niama's eyes snapped open and the footlocker immediately dropped and burst open, spraying clothes and an assortment of other things across the room.

"Practice," she said cheerfully, "now help me pick this stuff up, I'm too lazy to do it all myself."

Kate obliged.

"Sooo, how was your first day? Master Dekka run you ragged?"

"Nah, it wasn't so bad. He taught me the Jedi code, and, well, _tried_ to teach me how to levitate stuff. I think the pebble moved a little… or maybe I breathed too hard."

Niama laughed, tossed a brown tunic into her locker without folding it, and said, "Don't worry, it took me _ages_, and Master Grint started me with a blade of grass."

Smiling, and feeling slightly better, Kate retrieved a stone on a letter thong from the corner.

"What's this?" she asked, fingering the intricate design: two lines twining around each other in a spiral. "It's beautiful."

For the first time, Niama looked a little sad as she took the pendant, carefully wrapping it in a soft cloth, and placed it gently in the corner of the footlocker.

"It's all I have left of my mother. I don't remember either of my parents. Master Cathir said they died when I was five, some plague or something." Then her face brightened, "But I have the academy now. Everyone is so nice, you'll love it here. Besides, it's not like anyone else has a family anymore either."

Kate stopped in the middle of refolding a wrinkled tunic. "What? I have family, my mother and Gam, my little brother, are still on Carun!"

"Well, yeah, but you can't see them."

"Obviously, but when I become a Jedi, I'll go visit them."

Niama looked uneasy. "No, you won't. The Jedi don't encourage it; it forms bonds and emotional ties. 'There is no emotion; there is peace,' that stuff. Didn't Master Dekka tell you that?"

"No. No, he didn't."

"Oh. Oh well, you can ask him later, right? Let's go eat, I'm starved."

A little more than slightly deterred by this fact, Kate followed Niama across the courtyard and into a large hall, full of people, ranging from five to sixteen years old, all eating what appeared to be some sort of fruit mixture. Niama grabbed a wooden plate and filled it with fruit, indicating that Kate should do the same. After shoving a chunk of bread in her mouth, she headed back out to the open courtyard and plunked down under a tree.

Swallowing the large hunk of food in her mouth with difficulty, Niama explained, "There are way too many people in there, I can't hear myself think. Besides, it's been so nice out here lately, with the trees blooming and all."

Kate picked at the food a little, no longer hungry.

"Come on, eat it, it's good," she said encouragingly taking another huge bite. Kate remained silent. Trying to taker her mind off of family matters, Niama said, "What's the Jedi code?"

Unfortunately it came out sunding something like, "Waf dejay co?"

She swallowed, grinning, and repeated herself. "Master Dekka will probably drill you on it tomorrow.

Kate sighed heavily.

"There is no emotion; there is peace.

There is no ignorance; there is wisdom.

There is no passion; there is serenity.

There is no death; there is the force."

Niama frowned. " 'There is no ignorance; there is wisdom?' No, it's 'There is no ignorance; there is _knowledge_.' "

"Oh, don't nitpick, it was close enough."

She shook her head. "Not for Master Dekka, he's a stickler. All of them are, when it comes to the Jedi Code, at least. I swear some of them recite it in their sleep." She made fake snoring sounds, in between mumbling garbled bits of the code, rolling around on the grass and twitching a bit.

Kate burst out laughing, startling what looked like a Mynoc perched in a nearby tree that flew away and sent a shower of petals down on them. Mission Cheer-Up-Sour-Rancor completed, Niama returned to her food, extracting a flower petal before devouring the remainder. Kate, still laughing, pushed half her fruit onto Niama's plate and they finished eating, enjoying the feel of the setting twin suns on their backs.


End file.
